Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $13.0\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$150$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Answer: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${13.0\%} \times {\$150} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $13.0\%$ is equivalent to $13.0 \div 100$ $13.0 \div 100 = 0.130$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.130$ $\times$ $$150$ = $$19.50$ You would pay $$19.50$ in sales tax.